. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 346 THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. that the soil seems to be raised in the digging proc- â ess, and the upper covering of the tunnel consists â¢of a layer of earth only about an inch thick. Such tunnels are very often destroyed by accident and made impassable; but the Vole is tireless in its work of repairing, even if it has to do the same work over several times a day. The tunnels may easily be distinguished from those of the Mole, as, the hills are more irregular, are composed of larger lumps of â¢earth, do not lie in straight l
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 346 THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. that the soil seems to be raised in the digging proc- â ess, and the upper covering of the tunnel consists â¢of a layer of earth only about an inch thick. Such tunnels are very often destroyed by accident and made impassable; but the Vole is tireless in its work of repairing, even if it has to do the same work over several times a day. The tunnels may easily be distinguished from those of the Mole, as, the hills are more irregular, are composed of larger lumps of â¢earth, do not lie in straight lines relatively to one another and are never open at the apex. In these burrows the Schermice live in couples, but these couples exhibit a tendency to seek locations in the vicinity of others thus mated. The Schermouse is not possessed of great running powers, but it is an â¢excellent digger and swims remarkably well, though not so well as the Water Shrew. In secluded local- ities one sees it active by day and night; it is a wary creature, however, and re- tires into its hole when it notices the presence of an observer. It can be easily "watched only when it roams among the reeds. In the park in Leipzig, the Water Voles have become so ac- customed to human pres- â¢ence, however, that one can observe them with the greatest ease at any hour of the day, if he brings food for them. A bridge has been built over the narrow- est part of the park pond and under this bridge they have taken up their abode; they swim back and forth quite fearlessly, approach- ing when the children pass- ing or standing on the bridge, throw pieces of bread to them. Probably these morsels were origi- nally intended for fish and Swans, but they attracted the Water Voles; the nim- ble swimmers, however, us- ually succeeded in catching them, and now they receive them on their own account. Among the perceptive faculties of the Water Vole sight and hearing seem to be the senses most ex- cellently d
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
